


To Wed or Not to Wed

by Purplemagic



Category: Bjyx, MDZS, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Finding Love, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, boys loving boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27399952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplemagic/pseuds/Purplemagic
Summary: A short AU fanfic where Sean finds his true love Yibo when he was least expecting it.orSean Xiao meets Wang Yibo while on his honeymoon on a remote Greek island.
Relationships: Wang Yibo/ Xiao Zhan - Relationship, YiZhan - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	To Wed or Not to Wed

Sean Xiao looked stunning in a tuxedo. He always looks good in a suit and he knew it. But he kept staring at himself in the mirror. Something did not feel right. He kept adjusting the bow…brushing his hair…adjusting his belt…shining his shoes… all again for the 5th time in the last 30 mins. 

He was anxious, restless…sweating? He turned the air conditioner on, but that was not helping too. He was too nervous.

“For the love of God! Sean, please calm down mate! You look just fine...You look more than fine. You are stunning!” his best friend and best man Chris told him, trying to distract him from himself. His friend was now walking back and forth across the room and that was giving him a headache.

“Thanks buddy!” Sean replied but his facial expression did not change a bit. He should be happy, should be thrilled, excited to be getting married today. But that was not what he was feeling right now. His stomach hurt... as it does before an important exam.. or before a big interview.. he was almost nauseous. He still kept up with the pacing, driving Chris crazy.

“This doesn’t feel right. Something doesn’t feel right” Sean turned towards Chris.

“It’s called.. getting cold feet Sean. It’s more common at weddings than you think. But trust me you will be fine once this is over. Everything will be fine” Chris assured him.

Sean and Chris have been friends since he moved to London for college. Chris was an out and about gay man and provided Sean the necessary confidence to accept himself and live his life the way he wanted to. Sean fell in love with the city of London within a year of living there and Chris helped him through the loneliness and struggles of college, help him settle down. Chris was with him when he decided to come out to his parents.. he encouraged him to date and fall in love and now he’s with Sean when he’s finally getting married.

He was going to be married in less than 30 mins and the feeling has not sunk in yet for Sean. He met Mike Wang a year and a half after college, when he was apprenticing at one of the fashion designing studios in London. He was set up on a blind date by Chris. Mike was a distant cousin of Chris who recently moved to London from Beijing and Chris had this feeling that those two would be perfect for each other. Well…he was almost right.

Mike was just a year older than them and moved to London to pursue his master's in business management. He was very good looking, athletic, smart and thoughtful. He was the first blind date that Sean actually enjoyed but none the less still felt the spark was missing. He decided to be content with what he got because this was the date set up by Chris. So he even agreed to a second date by the end of the night. They went on a few more dates before they decided to be in a relationship. They dated for 3 years before Mike finally asked Sean to be his husband. 

Sean took some time before accepting his proposal…he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be married. He loved Mike, no doubt about that, he liked spending time with him…but marriage was a lifetime commitment. He was not ready to be married yet but he was scared that if he said no that would lose both Mike and Chris. That wasn’t a reason to get married, because you do not want to upset your best friend.

Sean thought hard...Mike was a good guy, he cared about him, protected him, took care of him always. But Sean feels the spark is still missing between them. This was not the kind of love and marriage that Sean always dreamt of but again he was happy with what he had.

This was better than nothing. Maybe all these thoughts clouded his judgement a little when he decided to accept Mike’s proposal.

It was the wedding day finally and Sean was still insecure, if he made the right decision. He could not keep his nerves calm. If things go bad, this would ruin two lives forever. He couldn’t do that to Mike. Not after all these years. He started pacing up and down the room again. 

“I…I have to go Chris.” Sean stuttered.

“What the hell do you mean? This isn’t funny” Chris yelled.

“I can’t do this. I really can’t. I’m sorry. I have to go. I will call you later Ok” with that Sean got out of his tux and ran down the hallway before Chris could even process what he was saying or try to stop him from running. Chris was in shock and when he came to, he heard the decorated wedding car screech away from the venue.

———————-

Sean was on the flight flying away from London to Mykonos when he was finally able to comprehend what he had done. He felt guilty for leaving like that. Leaving Mike at the altar…Mike didn’t deserve that… it was the worst…. he was the worst…he didn’t deserve Mike. He pondered taking the return flight back and apologizing to Mike in person. _Will he forgive him now? Is it too late?_

When he left the venue, he didn’t know where he was headed. He just knew that he had to get out of there.. fast. He couldn’t get through the wedding and hurt Mike. And he was in no state to face Mike or Chris or his parents anytime soon. He had to get away for the time being. After driving for about an hour he stopped on the side of the highway to take a min and think. That is when he noticed the flight tickets in the car. They were supposed to fly to Greece for their honeymoon that night. On an impulse, Sean drove towards the airport. 

He had to wait almost 2 hours in the airport. He kept his phone switched off, bought some clothes and accessories and boarded the flight. The 5 hour flight felt like a lifetime. Sean had no idea what he was doing. He was obviously not thinking straight. His head was aching, he felt horrible and couldn’t even sleep a little on the plane. It was evening when he made it to the island and then he had a ferry to take to another nearby island of Syros. It was almost midnight when he finally checked into his resort. He was too exhausted from the journey and he barely ate the whole day. But he still had no appetite. He still felt nauseous, so he just went to bed after crying his eyes out. He hoped that the guilt would kill him by morning.

Sean woke up with a hammering pain in his head, when it finally sunk in of where he was and why, he immediately rushed to the bathroom to throw up. Nothing came put because he had barely eaten in a while but the nausea wouldn’t leave him. He picked up a bottle of water and went to sit by the pool to reflect on his odd behavior over the past 24 hours…but soon fell asleep with the exhaustion taking over.

——-

Sean has been sitting at the bar for 30 mins now but has still not ordered a drink. He was clutching his phone tight, still debating if he should turn it on.

“So do you want a drink or not?” The bartender asked rather irritated. Sean did not answer. 

The bartender walked away and moved out as his shift ended and someone else took over. He warned the new man about the person at the bar lost in his own world.

Sean was still staring at the phone and finally turned it on. He saw a barrage of messages, missed calls and voice mails from everyone that he left behind. He read a first few messages and voice mails from Mike and all the guilt came back to haunt him again. Messages from Mike stopped last night but Chris was still trying to reach him. He was now worried for his best friend and just wanted to know he was safe somewhere. Sean considered calling him back to let everyone know where he is. He was lost in thought when someone interrupted.

“Hey there handsome! Here’s some whiskey.. on the house.. you look like you need it” the bartender spoke.

When Sean lifted his face, the guy behind the bar was awestruck at how handsome he was. He was the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on. And the guy had a mole under his lower lip which made him extremely gorgeous. 

“uh! thanks!” Sean replied

“So what’s wrong? wanna talk about it? That’s what we bar enders do, you know? It’s a slow night anyway. I can listen!” he said

“hmm.. not really!” Sean turned his attention back to his phone.

“Good then…let’s just drink to whatever is bothering you and forget about it till the morning” the bartender chuckled.

Sean switched off his phone and started drinking. He finally looked at the bar tender’s face and realized that he was very young and wondered if he was even old enough to work in the bar. But he was not interested in small talk, so he continued to drink alone. The bartender would help other guests once a while and then bring his attention back to him every so often that finally it started bothering Sean. He kept on with the chit chat until Sean had had enough and wanted to leave.. but he had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.

December was offseason in the Greek islands and there were hardly any tourists there. December was also not the season of weddings but Sean always wanted a winter white wedding and Mike just went with his whim. So honeymoon in Greece in winter was supposed to be romantic with no crowds around, few open places and the cold and rain supposed to keep the newlyweds indoors. It was supposed to be perfect. Sean always wanted such a wedding.. just not this one.

With nowhere else to go, Sean sipped his drink once more and continued to ignore the bartender as much as possible. 

“Hey the kitchen is about to close now, do you wanna maybe eat something with your drink. I don’t want you passing out on me” he interrupted Sean’s peace again.

“No, I’m good. Thanks”

“Suit yourself” he says and gets back to his only other customer at the moment. It was not even 5 mins before he came back to talk more.

“So are you traveling alone.. on vacation? why are you here though?”

Zhan did not answer rather gave him a puzzling look. 

“I mean.. here in Greece… in December. We rarely get tourists this time of the year. And you seem to be alone. You should have known that you would get lonely.” he continued his rambling.

Zhan thought for a moment. Maybe the whiskey was finally getting to him, but he suddenly blurted out “I was supposed to be on my honeymoon!”

The bartender almost choked on his drink. “Then where is your wife? Why are you drinking alone here? Did you fight with your wife… on your honeymoon? That’s rough mate!”

“Do you want to a listen to a funny story?”

“hmm.. go on”

“I didn’t get married” Sean says and laughs wildly.

The kid now looked confused. “What do you mean? I don’t follow!”

“Well! I ran out on my wedding”

The bartender now paid attention to the dejected expression on Xiao Zhan’s face.

“You ran out on your wedding but you are here on your honeymoon?”

….

….

“That’s the kind of person I’am. Worst person ever” Zhan said and finished his drink in one shot again.

“And why do you think that?”

“Because I hurt the man who loved me, who I thought I loved, I hurt my friends, my family…I disappointed everyone. I’m the biggest appointment of my life”

“Man?”

“Yes..man.. I left him.. I hurt him”

“Stop saying the same thing again and again and for a second just think why you had to do that?”

“How does it matter, why? What matters is what I did is wrong?” Sean shot down another drink in a gulp.

Sean kept repeating pretty much the same for rest of the night and after a while stopped making much sense and passed out right there at the bar.

———

When Sean woke up the next day, he was not in his resort, he didn’t know where he was and had no idea how he got there. It looked like someone’s bedroom. Sean immediately flipped the bedsheets to confirm if he was still dressed and thankfully he was!. He was slightly pleased that he did not ruin the situation any more by sleeping with some stranger. _But where the hell am I?_ He didn’t have to wonder for long when the bathroom door suddenly opened and a very good looking, young guy appeared in front of him…in a towel.

“Oh you are up finally! Good! It’s almost noon. Do you want to get some brunch maybe” he asked.

Sean was awestruck at the guy’s beauty, his glistening skin made him gulp, his smile just brightened up his life and Sean almost forgot all the terrible things he had done.

“You.. you are the bartender from last night! How did I get here? Where am I?”

“Yes, I’m the bartender from last night. And I brought you here..to my room after you passed out last night. The pub you were drinking last night is just downstairs, I live in the same building. I didn’t know which hotel you were staying in, so I just brought you here”

“Oh! Thanks! you should have just left me there. I don’t think I deserve anyone’s kindness anymore”

“Again with that self pity huh? C’mon mate it’s too early in the day for that. Let’s just go get some food in us before we start with the serious talk, eh?”

“I’m sorry. I think I should go.”

“No, please don’t. Freshen up please, we can just go downstairs, get some food and then we can talk more.”

“I really don’t think that is a good idea”

“It’s not like you have any place to be or anyone else to hand out with” he smirked

“I should go” Sean was not pleased and got up to leave but was held back.

“Ok ok. I’m sorry. Let’s start over! Hi..I'm Wang Yibo, do you want to grab some lunch with me Sean?”

“You know my name? How?”

“Because you told me yourself, last night”

“Ah ok! I’m Sean Xiao. Thanks for helping me last night and for listening to me I guess. I don’t remember much though. So I apologize if I said anything wrong or behaved inappropriately”

“No Sean you have nothing to apologize.. so far.. but I’m very hungry now and if you don’t move your ass quickly to get some food, I will make sure you have something to apologize for” Yibo said and laughed nervously. “Just one lunch and then I will leave you again to yourself” he persuaded Sean.

“Ok fine...one lunch. give me a few minutes to freshen up.” Sean finally agreed.

When they got downstairs, Yibo pulled him out to the street and dragged him to the restaurant in front of the pub. “The food here sucks!

My Dad is not as good at cooking as he believes himself to be. This restaurant on the other hand serves the best food around this part of the island”

“Your Dad?”

“Yes, my Dad.. he owns the place and I just help him out sometimes when I’m around.” Yibo said proudly.

“Oh! that must be nice” Sean said dryly and followed Yibo into the restaurant.

Once they were seated and food has been served, Sean couldn’t control his curiosity any longer.

“So Yibo.. I don’t remember much from last night. What else did I tell you apart from my name?”

“Hmm.. I now know everything about you” Yibo said sarcastically.

“Be serious now, tell me please”

“Hmm..you told me why you are here and how you ended up alone. But that’s it. You did not tell me anything more”

Sean gave him a puzzling look.

“Ok fine, you also told me how much you hate yourself and how you don’t deserve love, how big of a disappointment you are, blah blah blah”

Sean glared at him like he wanted to kill him with his eyes. Yibo chuckled.

“You are being too hard on yourself mate!”

“You don’t understand!” Sean snapped back at him.

“You ran out of your wedding! So What? A wedding is not something you go through just to please others. You get married only once, so it has to be with the absolute right person. You were not sure of your feelings, so you ran. OK I agree, the method you chose to let him down is absurd. You should have talked to him first. But it doesn’t matter. He knows now that you guys were not meant to be together. If he loves you, he will understand. What’s done is done, why are you beating yourself up now? Apologize to everyone, forget this ever happened and move on will you? Find the one who is right for you next time. That’s it!”

Sean thought that the kid was way more mature for his age.

“How old are you?”

“Huh? How does that matter?”

“You don’t look old enough to be giving someone life advice.” Sean smiled and that sent volts of electricity down Yibo’s spine. _God! why is he so beautiful_. He thought.

“I’m not as young as I look. I’m an adult and I’m almost 22 now” Yibo said with a sly smile

Sean smiled fondly. “So what do you do Wang Yibo? Do you live here on the island helping your Dad with business?”

“No, I live and study Arts in London, will be graduating soon. I’m here for the holidays right now. Will go back in a couple of weeks.”

They spent the next couple of hours talking, excited to know more about each other. Sean felt at ease in Yibo’s company and for a while completely forgot about his guilt and just enjoyed the company of a friend.

———-

It was not even 5 hours since Sean parted from Yibo after lunch and he was already back to being guilt ridden. He turned on his phone again and checked the number of missed calls from his parents and Chris. Mike had not tried to contact him today. He picked up the phone and dialed. 

“Hi Mama”

“ZhanZhan! Finally! What is wrong with you? You scared the hell out of me..all of us. Where are you Zhan? I want you to get back here right away and apologize to Mike”

“I..I don’t know what is wrong with me. I just couldn’t go through with the wedding. I’m sorry..I’m sorry for everything.. I know I’m wrong but I can’t help it.”

“Zhan..it’s normal to have cold feet before the wedding..but you don’t run away like that my son”

“It’s not cold feet Mom”

“Then what are you telling me? That you don’t love Mike? That you planned this wedding just to run away from it..hurting everyone involved. Why Zhan..Why?”

“It’s not like that. I don’t know how to explain ok. I just knew that I can’t get married and make Mike suffer for life. I didn’t know how to tell everyone.. so I ran. I’m sorry”

…..

“Say something Mom!”

“I don’t know what to say Zhan. Your father is with Mike now and Chris too. He’s not taking it well”

“How.. how is he?”

“Zhan, please come back now. Let’s deal with this face to face.”

…

“Atleast tell me you are safe. Where are you Zhan?”

“I’m…fine Mom..I can’t tell you where I’m. I’ll be back soon ok. Please don’t worry. I’ll have to go now, bye!” he hung up before she could say anything more.

He opened a bottle of beer, and tried to find a charger for this phone. The room was too huge for Sean’s liking. Mike liked everything fancy and grand. Sean on the other hand preferred simple things. He strolled around the lounge room by the pool while his phone charged. He picked up the phone again after his second beer and this time called Chris.

“Sean! Where the hell are you mate?”

“Chris! I’m sorry”

“You can apologize to me when I see you in person. Care to tell me where you are right now?”

“Chris.. is..is Mike fine?”

“Do you really have to ask? How do you think he’s doing Sean?”

“I..I’m so sorry”

“I’m not the one you should apologize to. Tell me when are you coming back. You should own up to your actions now Sean. Just tell me where you are first.”

“I’ll be back soon. Please take care of Mike ok. Bye” he hung up again.

He finished his drink and the next thing he knew he was the same pub from last night looking for Yibo. He wasn’t there and Sean felt stupid for going back there in the first place.

He sat at one of the tables and ordered a drink and some food. He sat there for almost an hour playing with his hood and glancing at the bar every two seconds for any sign of Yibo. He felt like an idiot after a while and got up immediately to go back to his room when Yibo suddenly appeared in front of him. Sean’s face almost lit up but he instantly regretted smiling when he saw the smirk on Yibo’s face.

“You were waiting for me? Stalking me now are you?”

“I’m leaving”

“Ah! C’mon! Don’t be a spoiled sport now. Let’s get out of here” Yibo grabbed Sean’s wrist and dragged him out of there.

“Wait! I came to drink here. Where are we going?”

“This place is boring. I will take you someplace nice. Trust me”

“Yibo, no..this is your Dad’s place, how can you say that?”

“I know this is my Dad’s place and so we need to get out of here before he sees us. Let’s go now”

Yibo handed Sean a helmet and signaled him to get on his scooter. The ride was short but bumpy on the stone roads and Sean had to hold on to Yibo more than a couple of times. Yibo was clearly enjoying the ride as he beamed happily whenever Sean held on to him. They finally reached their destination.

It was a small private beach, with absolutely no one around. It was dark with only the moonlight shining down on them. 

“Why are we here Yibo.. you can’t really enjoy the beach at night. And it’s cold.”

“Stop whining like an old man and come sit down”

“Ouch!”

Yibo laughed hard at Sean’s grumpy face. Sean lied down next to him.

“So were you really waiting for me at the pub?”

“No. I wanted to meet your Dad actually. Have some talk..Man to Man.. you know”

Yibo hit him on the arm as Sean was stunned at the sudden playfulness.

They lied down and stared at the night sky together.

———-

“Sean…Sean..wake up..wake up..hey..wake up” Yibo nudged Sean who was fast asleep now. 

Sean slowly opened his eyes to see Yibo’s face so close to his own and was startled pleasantly.

“Oh sorry…I fell asleep?”

“Yeah..like who sleeps out in the cold..on the beach?? get up old man.. we gotta go before we freeze up” Yibo teased

“Ah yeah! let’s go. Where to?”

“What do you mean where? You, to your hotel and me, to my home..Unless…unless you want to go somewhere else..together?” Yibo laughed almost hysterically.

Sean blushed and was intrigued..“Shut up! I’m not going anywhere else with you. Let’s get home” he got up to leave.

Sean held on to Yibo’s waist this time as they rode the bike back into the town.

“So where are you staying? Where should I drop you off?” Yibo screamed through the helmet.

“Its the Island Beach resort..turn right down the road here and then it’s at the very end”

“I know the place! Fancy! Someone’s rich” Yibo teased again

“Not me..my fiancé is..my ex fiancé is” Sean said sadly.

“Ah! not him again!” Yibo rode faster now

Sean unwrapped his hands around Yibo and got down the bike when they reached the resort…waiting for Yibo to say something..anything.

“Do you want me to come in?” Yibo joked and winked.

“Good night!”Sean said and started to walk away

“Ok sorry sorry..I was just joking.”

“Bye Yibo. See you later”

“Later..When?”

“I’ll see you when I see you Yibo. Go home now”

“Please Sean, tell me when will you see me again. Tomorrow? I mean its almost sunrise..so today? For lunch? Dinner? Drinks? Later?”

“I have something to take care of today. So I’ll see you in the evening.”

“Perfect! I will wait for you, Sean” Yibo said with a smug face and rode away.

Sean reached his bed and fell asleep instantly..quite peacefully..without any thoughts..for the first time in 4 days.

——-

The first thing Sean did when he woke up was to check out of the resort and move into a more cozy and affordable hotel close to town center. He considered advancing his return flight but gave up on the idea very soon because he was now actually looking forward to spending time together with Yibo and getting to know him better.

Yibo picked him up on his scooter soon after, they were now headed towards the neighboring town.

“Where are we going Yibo? I thought we were going to eat, I’m hungry.”

“Yes yes, it’s not too far, I think you will like this place.” he gave a complacent smile and rode off as fast as he could because it started to drizzle now.

When they arrived, Sean followed Yibo through the back door of what seemed like a small restaurant.

“Hello Uncle, how have you been? This is my friend I told you about, Sean. Do you have our dinner ready, I’m starving!”

“God! Yibo..always so impatient…you just walk in and ask for food. People might think that your father starves you” the man was laughing while hugging Yibo. He then turned to Sean. “Hello Sean, nice to meet you” 

“Hello. How are you?” Sean replied

“Make yourself at home, I will serve dinner in few mins” he gestured them towards a table at the front looking out into the streets. There was just another family in the restaurant, probably locals.

The food was served soon and as soon as Sean tasted the first bite, he understood why Yibo brought him there. The food was delicious, it was the best he had so far on the island.

“Eat up, we have to leave soon.” Yibo suddenly spoke

“Where? Aren’t we going back after this?” Sean was confused

“Why do you want to go back so soon.. we came all the way here. Let’s go dancing!”

“Dancing? What do you mean dancing? I thought all the dance pubs were closed?”

“Yes, they are closed..for regular tourists. But we locals still have a few places to enjoy in the winter”

“I’m not really into dancing Yibo, I’m afraid I won’t be a good company to you” Sean hesitated

“That is fine, you can just watch me dance. I’m very good, you’ll see” he winked

“Has anyone told you what a brat you are, Wang Yibo?”

“All the time, Sean..all the time!” Yibo grinned happily.

Just like he said, Yibo was very good at dancing. He was on the dance floor with some of his friends enjoying the music while Sean sat by the bar with a drink just looking at Yibo having fun. 

Sean tried to remember the last time he went dancing. It was in college before he met Mike. He was never a great dancer, but enjoyed letting himself loose on the dance floor, letting the music take over. He used to go dancing with Chris and his friends sometimes but

Mike hated loud music and crowds, so they never went clubbing after they started dating. Sean kind of missed this feeling. 

As though Yibo could read Sean’s mind, he immediately came to drag him to the dance floor.

“I told you, I can’t dance. You go have fun Yibo…I’m good here”

“C’mon Sean, just one dance. You can’t come to the club and not dance.”

Yibo was obviously not going to let go until he dragged Sean into the center…Sean had to give in. Sean was finally dancing after a long time but his mind was still fighting the guilt. 

_What the hell Sean… you are dancing now.. how can you enjoy like this.. you are not a vacation..you hurt Mike, he must still be sad now and here you are not caring about his feelings and having fun like you did nothing…you should be ashamed of yourself_

Yibo caught the distracted look on Sean’s face and pulled him closer. He held his hand in one and the other hand behind his back holding him in place and started to slowly dance.

“Just relax and follow the rhythm” Yibo whispered to Sean

Sean relaxed in Yibo’s arms, just as the song turned into a slow one.

“Why are you doing this Yibo…going through all this trouble for someone you met 3 days ago”

“Well, I don’t like seeing people sad. And when I first you, you looked like you needed a friend. So I’m just showing you that you can have some fun even if you feel guilty, you can still enjoy on your runaway honeymoon. Also I was getting bored all alone here…now I have someone to spend time with” he laughed

Sean did not want to say anything more and he just leaned in and swayed together with Yibo, letting the rhythm take over as Yibo suggested.

———-

And just like that, Sean spent another four days in Yibo’s company. They would meet around noon everyday and hang out till late in the night exploring the island. 

The adventures never seemed to cease with Yibo. Yibo knew how to make the most of his life, he was always happy and making everyone around him happy. He cared and loved everyone so passionately, it was just love or nothing.. there was no middle ground with him. He was the most compassionate person Sean had ever known. Yibo was also way too mature for his age and Sean found that endearing. Yibo complemented Sean in every way, he completed him where ever he was lacking. Sean realized he was slowly being pulled into this crazy whirlwind romance with Yibo. He couldn’t fight it even if he tried.

Tonight they hiked up a mountain for 2 hours to spend the night in a small resort by the hot springs. Sean was a little embarrassed sitting almost naked next to Yibo but the warm water from the spring was relaxing every muscle in his body which is what he needed right now.

He really really wanted to relax in the water, but Yibo’s incessant chatter wouldn’t let him. He wouldn’t complain though because he enjoys these meaningless talks with Yibo. Yibo kept yapping about something but Sean could only focus on Yibo’s face. Under the dim lit lights and the night sky, Yibo looked breathtakingly beautiful. He had hardly listened to anything Yibo was talking about when Yibo suddenly pinched him to pull him out of his thoughts.

“Ouch!” 

“You were staring!” Yibo said

“Sorry Yibo..I’m so sorry…. I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking about something” he lied

“Hmm…Did you even listen to what I said?” Yibo pinched him again

“Stop it! It hurts!”

“I asked you something and I need an answer!” he snarled.

_Shoot! What was he talking about. I have no recollection, I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips. And we have stayed in the water for too long, I’m almost dizzy now, I can barely think._

“hmm.. yes!” he said without knowing what he was agreeing to

“Yes? you sure?” Yibo questioned again in shock

“Actually..I have no idea what you were talking about” Sean laughed nervously

“I asked you if I could kiss you” Yibo flushed in embarrassment

“Oh Okay! Then… wait! what?” 

Yibo could no longer wait for Sean to respond when he cut him off mid sentence and plastered Sean’s lips with his own. It was a quick and tender kiss, just covering his lips but it was Yibo’s first. When he pulled back, Sean was still in disbelief with his eyes wide open and staring lifelessly at Yibo.

“Sean?” Yibo nudged him

…

“Did you not like it?” Yibo asked sadly

“I did!” Sean proclaimed and Yibo’s ears immediately turned red.

“I mean…I…Yibo..we’ve been in the water for so long…I’m exhausted, shall we get out now?” Sean got out and held a hand out for Yibo.

Neither spoke of the kiss again that night. They changed and went to their rooms to sleep, both trying to process their newfound emotions.

———-

The next morning, once they were back from the mountains, Sean and Yibo were out grocery shopping in the town market. Sean promised to cook for him that night, Yibo was craving authentic Chinese food. On their way back, Yibo made Sean carry all the stuff.

“Yibo, can I hold your hand?” Sean asked sheepishly

“Really? Yes!” Yibo exclaimed

When Yibo held out his hand, Sean held his hand and then cheekily handed him all the stuff from his hands making Yibo growl in anger. Sean was laughing hard now and tried to walk away from Yibo who was still holding onto his hands when he suddenly stilled in his tracks.

Sean was stunned when he saw Mike walking down the street towards them.He immediately pulled his hand out from Yibo’s grip and moved away.

“Mike!”

Yibo’s heart sank when he heard the name. He saw the two of them staring at each other and tried to make sense of Sean’s feelings but he could not read his feelings apart from the shock of seeing Mike there. 

“Mike…how? what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you of course!” Mike replied casually while staring up and down at Yibo.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Well, you checked out the resort and it was charged to my credit card. Should have taken care of that if you did not want to be found”

“I’m sorry! I’ll pay you back” he blurted

“I did not come here for that Sean. I came for you. But I guess I’m late” he said now looking displeased at Yibo

“I..I meant to call you..I wanted to apologize so many times..I”

“Isn’t he a bit young for you Sean?” he was mocking him now and continued. “Is this why you left me, because you now prefer young boys”

Sean was shocked at the rude remarks but he knew Mike was hurting and this was just his way of hiding his true emotions. 

“Leave Yibo out of this. This has nothing to do with him. You blame me for whatever I did. I’m ready to listen.” Sean said and turned to look at Yibo. “Yibo, can you give us some privacy please. I need to talk to Mike. Go back to the pub, I will see you there soon.”

“I’m staying at the same resort in the same room. When you are ready, come talk to me” with that Mike started walking towards the resort.

“Yibo, I will go with him now. I will see you later.” Sean said and followed Mike.

Yibo nodded and watched Sean as he ran to catch up to Mike. Mike’s presence scared him. It was too soon and he would definitely lose if they both had to compete for Sean’s love. Mike had the advantage of three year’s history with Sean..which he was lacking. Yibo went through a whirlwind of possibilities while he stood there and tried to process what Mike’s presence meant to their relationship now. 

_Are we in a relationship though? I’m not sure what this is…we never really talked about it. But what if Sean is not serious enough about me. What if I’m just a vacation fling that he needed to get over his guilt. I did tell him to use me..but what if he really pushes me away after this? What will happen to me if Mike convinces him to get back together and get married. Will I be able to give up on him…I know it’s just been a few days, we don’t know much about each other..but..but I don’t think I will be able to let go of him..I think…I love him…yes..I love Sean..I have to tell him…is it too late to tell him?_

Yibo just stood there lost in his thoughts as the figures disappeared from his sight. He walked over to the pub, dropped the groceries bag in the back and started his shift behind the bar while waiting for Sean to return.

Every hour that passed felt like a lifetime for Yibo but there was no sign of Sean. He waited until it was time to close the pub but Sean had not returned and he feared his worst fears were coming true now. With these dire thoughts, he picked up the phone and finally called him…but there was no answer. His mind quickly imagined Sean and Mile getting back together and going back home without even informing him. 

_Why is he not picking the phone? Are they fighting or have they made up? Did Sean choose Mike again? But why is he not answering his phone…is it because they are sleeping together right now?_

Yibo quickly scratched that last thought and dialed the number again…still he got the same response. _Fine..if he’s not bothered to pick up my phone, then I’m not worried either. I’m just going to sleep._ Even after this, Yibo waited for another hour for Sean to return before giving up eventually and returning to his room to sleep.

————

As soon as Sean walked into the room, Mike slammed the door shut and grabbed Sean by his collar to push him against the wall.

“Who is that kid Sean? Did you know him when we were together?”

“Mike! Please! No. I told you leave Yibo out of this. I just met him the day I got here.”

“Then why Sean? Why did you do this to me? Do you know how much you hurt me? You humiliated me in front of all our friends and family. Why?” Mike was now crying and it broke Sean’s heart once again. But he remained silent to listen to him vent it all out first.

“Am I a joke to you Sean? Did our love mean nothing to you? All those years…u know how much I loved you Sean” Mike held on to Sean’s

arms tightly and bashed him on the wall.

“Mike..I’m sorry but you are hurting me now. Let go” Sean finally spoke. Mike instantly loosened his grip.

“I know I made a mistake Mike and I truly am sorry. Trust me..I love you too, but at the end of the day, this love was not enough for me. I always looked for more, wanted more…I still don’t know what it is but I felt something was missing in our relationship. I agree I was wrong in not being honest with you all this time, I should have broke it off sooner, I really am sorry Mike” Sean cupped Mike’s face in his hands and kissed him on the forehead. Then pulled him into his arms to hug him tightly. 

“You believe me right? I did love you Mike…that love was just not enough for me. I know I hurt you, and our family too, but I just did not want to us both to be unhappy for the rest of our lives. I didn’t know what else to do, I panicked I guess and chose the easy way out by running away. You can hate me for that, but don’t hate me for not loving you enough.” 

Mike continued to cry for few more minutes while Sean comforted him. Then he finally pulled back.

“Did you regret it Sean? what we had? our relationship?”

“No!..no of course not!”

“I guess I knew this when I decided to come here and confront you. Why else would you run away…we would have been married if you loved me as much as I did. Still I hoped that you would say something else as the reason, anything but this..may be like you just got scared or cold feet… guess I was a fool again.”

With a dejected face, Mike walked over to the couch and sat with his face between his hands. Sean sat next to him and pulled his hands into his.

“You are not a fool Mike. I’m the one to blame. I was being selfish. I thought that if I stopped pining over something I don’t have and focus on you, I can make you happy..make myself happy. I tried Mike…I really did.. but I failed at the end. I just couldn’t do it.”

“So now you are in love with that kid?” he brought Yibo back into the conversation.

“I don’t know Mike. I…I’ve known him only for a few days, but when I’m with him..I feel like..he completes me..whatever it is that I was looking for, whatever that I ever wanted in a relationship, I have that when I’m with him. I think I might be falling for him, but I haven’t told him that yet..and probably never will. Trust me we are not in a relationship..we are not dating.. we are …I don’t even know how he feels about me..we are just friends for now. And that is why I want you to leave Yibo out of my mess.”

….

“Tell me Mike, will you ever be able to forgive me? I really am sorry for putting you through this. I’m going to meet your parents and apologize too when am back”

“And when will that be? When do you plan to return?”

“Our return flights are scheduled in 3 days, I was planning to return then. I was going to visit you and your family immediately to apologize.”

Mike pulled his hand away from Sean and went into the kitchen to grab couple of beers from the fridge. 

“So why did you checkout from here? Once I saw the bill from the resort, I knew where you were. But I thought you would return to London since you checked out and when you didn’t show up, I decided to come by.”

“This place was too big for me. I never told you but I don’t like fancy places Mike, I like simple things..so I found myself a small cozy hotel down the road”

Mike laughed. “So what else did you never tell me? I guess I made too many assumptions about you instead of asking you directly about what you like and don’t like”

Sean smiled guiltily. 

“I’m serious, tell me. I want to know what else was wrong in our relationship”

“Mike…no..I..”

“It’s ok..I guess a bit of honesty now won’t hurt. We are anyways at the point of no return right? Go on.. tell me” he insisted

They spent the next few hours talking…about the past…about their memories..things that they were not honest about and things that bothered each other but never told one another.

Sean lost track of time talking and comforting Mike that he completely forgot about Yibo waiting for him. When Mike fell asleep and he took out his phone, he noticed the missed calls from Yibo. He wanted to return the call but it was already 4am, he didn’t want to disturb

Yibo in his sleep, so he slowly slipped out of the room and started walking towards Yibo’s room.

———-

When Yibo opened his eyes the next morning he was cuddling something warm and the slow breaths from someone were warming his chest. He immediately shot his eyes open and sat up to see who was next to him. Yibo’s sudden move startled Sean and he also woke up abruptly.

“Sean…when did you get here? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“It was too late Yibo and you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to disturb you, so I just slept next to you. I hope that’s ok.”

“Sean…what happened last night? 

“Nothing Yibo, I apologized to him.. then we started talking and kind of lost track of time”

“So?” Yibo asked

“So?” Sean asked back

“So…you…are you guys getting back together?”

“I don’t know…may be.” Sean teased Yibo but immediately regretted it when he saw the dejected expression on Yibo’s face.

“If we were getting back with him, then why would I be here Yibo?” Sean laughed to lighten up the mood

“What does that mean Sean? Please explain to the dumb me properly. I almost lost my mind worrying about this last night. I thought maybe you will get back together and marry him this time. It almost broke my heart thinking you would leave me” Yibo was crestfallen.

“Yibo, look at me…believe me..I know it’s hard because I left a man at the altar…but I will never leave you..never” Sean pulled him into a hug.

“And I’m not getting back with Mike. You know that relationship ended for me the moment I walked out of my wedding. I’m never getting back to that again.”

Yibo now wrapped his arms around Sean and hugged him tightly. 

“Sean…I.. I…I think I like you”

“And I think.. I like you too Yibo” Sean replied and pulled out of the hug to kiss Yibo on the forehead. He hesitated for a moment before sealing their lips together. This time, the kiss was not gentle and tender like the first time, it was more intense and passionate…as if they are letting each other know of their deep love through the kiss. They kissed sloppily until they had to pull back for air and then just laughed and hugged each other..remaining like that for a while without getting out of the bed. 

“Where’s Mike now?” Yibo finally broke the silence.

Sean looked at the time, it was almost noon. “He must be on his way back to main land now. He’s going back to London in the evening.”

“And you?”

“I will go back in 3 days..like I planned to”

“And what happens to us after that?”

“Well.. I guess..I will have to forget about you and move on, find someone else right?”

“What? This is not funny.” Yibo said without looking at Sean’s face.

“Don’t pout..I don’t think I can resist those lips if you pout” Sean brushed his lips against Yibo’s

“I will wait for you to return to London, Yibo and then we start dating. Like normal couples do. Does that work for you?”

“No!”

“No? What do you mean?”

“I mean, I will not be on the island alone for the next 10 days.. I will miss you..I will also fly back with you this weekend.”

“Don’t be a brat! Finish your vacation and then come meet me. I will wait for you.”

“But Sean…”

“No but Yibo…no more discussion on this. Now go shower, I’m hungry”

Yibo agreed grudgingly and got out of the bed to shower but not before stealing another kiss from Sean.

Sean lay back on the bed thinking about the last few days of turmoil in his life. He felt like a dead weight had been lifted off his chest now that he got a chance to explain himself to Mike. He still had a long way to go apologizing to Chris, Mike’s family, and also his parents. Yet he felt happy at this moment…coming on this trip…meeting Wang Yibo…falling in love again…maybe for once he will get the kind of love that he always wanted…maybe Yibo is the one for him. 


End file.
